So if experts – whom we work with – can themselves be at any one stage for any one aspect of their jobs – just as our Learners may be at any one stage for any one aspect of their jobs – or at multiple stages within any one aspect of their job (another way to segment the target audience) – we need to understand what the implications are for our developers “who Develop our content” … or our Curators of Content … and their strategies and tactics … our overall methods.

Think about ADDIE. Someone can be more experienced in Design than Analysis and be more familiar with Design in some modes/media than others. But in Design of Group Paced Workshops she rocks. E-Learning, not so much.

But if you need a MP for Design of Group Paced Workshops – and other modes/media, you’d probably want to include her in a mixed group for an Analysis Team – should you need one.

It’s tricky.

Unconsciously Incompetent – is when you don’t know what you don’t know and you don’t know what you need to know. Informal or Discovery Learning approaches here are terrible for the Learner. It’s also known as Sink or Swim. And only the strong survive. An expert at this point is no expert.

Consciously Incompetent – is when you now know what you don’t know. The Learner is better prepared to learn. The expert is still not an expert at this point.

Consciously Competent – is when you know what you need to know – and know what you don’t need to know. The learner now knows. And is gaining expertise to some level, over time. And can be tapped as an SME or Master Performer – and will probably miss a lot less than the 70% that a longer-time Master Performer/ SMEs might miss – having been operating on automatic pilot longer. This is the best time to work with a person IMO. Best, but not perfect.

Unconsciously Competent – is when you don’t know consciously what you know anymore. You are on auto-pilot on the familiar things, the mundane (to you) things. It’s easy to assume incorrectly what the target audience already knows and does not. This is where most experts can miss up to 70% of what a novice needs to perform. Not a good idea to simply trust what they tell you. They can’t help it.

See this video – at the 5:10 mark…

A Collaborative Team Approach – For Analysis & Design & Development

I’ve been dealing with this issue – experts not being able to be expert enough for my needs – by using teams of Master Performers.

And getting their ideas and thoughts on what they do and how they do them – on flip chart pages – visible – right in front of them – and where they can articulate that AND see what got captured AND then massage it as necessary (this is where the GREAT STUFF COMES OUT – BTW) AND then identify “the gaps” of the other performers, the non-Master Performers and for the other non-People variables – what they are and what causes them – their thoughts on that anyway.

Again – that does not make them right – just because a group can be brought to consensus. But a consensus from a mixed group of Master Performers (MPs) is much more trustworthy in my experience than going forward one person’s opinion – or a series of one person’s opinions.

Who else would you ask?

When clients have asked me what constitutes a MP I borrow from Neil Rackham and the criteria he used in his famous SPIN Research for identifying Sales People and Managers – they were Masters “if” they meet these 3 criteria:

Recognized by their Customers as a Master (Salesperson)

Recognized by their Management as a Master (Salesperson)

Recognized by their Peers as a Master (Salesperson)

For me – if a group of Clients and other Key Stakeholders – comes to a consensus on who the Master Performers are, and who any other relevant SMEs might be – that are indeed critical to providing inputs to the definitions of Ideal Performance and the Current State Gaps – and then the enabling Knowledge/Skills – that are all part of my PACT and EPPI approaches.

Your approaches may vary as necessary.

Additional Readings

I co-authored an article on this approach applied to Curriculum Architectures – in TRAINING MAGAZINE back in September 1984. Still works today – for Curriculum Architecture Designs of T&D Paths – and for ADDIE-like development efforts for performance-based Instruction and Information.

And I also co-authored an article on this on the prior efforts of Design … Analysis that same year in November for ISPI (which was NSPI back then in 1984).

It’s Not All About Learning

It's All About Performance Competence - at the Individual level, the Team level, the Process level, the Organization level, the Value Chain level and at the Societal level ... or Worker, Work, Workplace and World.

ISPI’s 2010 Honorary Life Member Award Recipient

In an Enterprise Learning Context

I Prefer the Facilitated Group Process for Speed and Accuracy

performance-based CAD and MCD

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Requests for Training – What & When to Expect and What & When to Suspect

Guy has served 80+ clients including over 45 F500 firms since November 1982.

Recipient of the ISPI - the International Society for Performance Improvement - Honorary Life Member Award - 2010 - for contributions to the Society and to the Technology for Performance Improvement (PI).

Founding member of ASQ’s Influential Voices Initiative - 2010. Served through 2015.

Guy W. Wallace collaborates with his Clients using predictable, visible, proven processes on time and on budget.

Client work won awards for AT&T, General Motors, HP and Siemens Building Technologies.

Guy's 39 years in the performance improvement/ training/ learning business have been focused in 2 key areas:

1- analysis of the organization and its business processes to derive the "Learning Requirements" from the "Performance Requirements" and...

2- design/architecting the configuration of instructional and informational content.

Guy conducts performance improvement projects, Curriculum Architecture Design projects, instructional Design/Development projects, and develops and coaches client staff in his ISD and Performance Improvement methods, processes, and use of his tools and techniques - both formally and informally.

What Learners/ Performers Need

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Paths-Menus-Guides-Maps for Training and Learning and Knowledge Management

A 1987 On-Boarding Story – Ramping Up a New Product Manager’s Performance Competence – Quickly

When Shortening the Time to Performance Competence is a Critical Business Issue with Worthy ROI. Click on Image for the Post

Measured Results Requires Meaningful Measurements

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12 Process Performance Variables in the EPPI Model

Guy W. Wallace – Consulting Since 1982

Curriculum Architecture Design – Since 1982

Performance Competence Development Paths vs Learning Paths - the difference is in the Analysis.

Recipient of ISPI’s 2010 Honorary Life Member Award

The top ISPI award, was awarded for contributions to both the technology of performance improvement and to the Society - as unanimously approved by two consecutive boards of the Society. Awarded in 2010.

HPT Treasures – for Evidence Based Performance Improvement

Developing L&D Content for Performance Impact

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If You Could Bring Others Up Closer to the Levels of Your Current State Master Performers – What Would Be the ROI?

The PACT Processes for performance-based T&D, L&D and Knowledge Management

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Avoid the Foo Foo in Instructional Design and Performance Improvement

You Go Down The Learning Path to Go Up The Learning Curve – to go Up the Performance Competence Curve

Guy has been doing performance-based Training Paths and Planning Guides for clients since 1982. First published on Curriculum Architecture in Training Magazine in September 1984 and on the Analysis methods in NSPI's (now ISPI) PIJ in November 1984.

What Was Innovative in Curriculum or Learning Architectures in 1984 – Would Still Seem To Be Innovative Today – Why?

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How to Build a Training Structure That Won’t Keep Burning Down - Training Magazine - September 1984

Celebrating – 30 Year Anniversary of this Publication – November 2014

Using a Group Process to Create Models and Matrices - NSPI Performance & Instruction Journal - November 1984

Performance Development Paths

a.k.a.: Learning Paths focused on Performance Competence

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Myth Busting in L&D

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In the Resource Tab…

3 Levers in EPPI – Enterprise Process Performance Improvement

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The EPPI View of Processes and their Enablers and Enabling Systems

And the Enabling/ Provisioning Systems and Processes that enable the Enablers. Note that "Awareness/ Knowledge/ Skills" are just 1 of 12 categories of enabling Process Performance variables - when you include the design of the Process itself, first and foremost.

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